Art of spotlight mounting



Sept. 1, 1936. c; K REK 2,052,949

ART OF SPOTLIGHT MOUNTING Filed June 13, 1935 Fl g! Patented Sept. 1, 1936 Cliflord Sklarek, Chicag ART or SPOTLIGHT MOUNTING ATENT FFlCE 0, 111., assignor to Inter-' national Spotlight Corporation, Chicago, Ill.,

a corporation of Illino Application June 13, 1935, Serial No. 26,383 [1 Claim. (01. 240 61.13)

This invention relates to improvementsin the art of spotlight mounting.

In the use of inside controlled types of dirigible lights, commonly called spotlights, on automobiles, it is customary to mount the spotlights in the front corner posts of the cars. "The usual spotlight includes a lamp head assembly located on the outside of the post, a handle assembly on the inside of the post, and a connecting shaft between the two assemblies which is passed through the metal post. Due to the fact that the posts of modern cars notonly vary considerably in contour and slope but are also quite small in crosssection, and also the factthat there'is only a '5 very limited'space available on the interior of the car to allow of the necessary operating movements of the spotlight handle, great difliculty has been experienced in accurately applying the spotlights in place. To apply the spotlights,.it is,

of course, necessary to drill through the corner post and not only must extreme care be taken in determining the angle at which the'drill is entered but great care must also'be ex'ercisedto insure that the drill emerges from the inner side of the post at exactly the right point in order that the necessary clearance, in the limited space available may be present to permit rotation of the handle assembly. Various expedients have heretofore been employed to determine the direction and location of the drill but none of them have proved entirely satisfactory, particularly on account of the great variety of post contours and slopes on the various types of modern cars.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved spotlight mounting bracket and cooperable interchangeable drill guide and spotlight retainer bearing member whereby the preparation of the post for the reception of the spotlight and application of the spotlight thereto may 0 be greatly facilitated and extreme accuracy of location insured.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplified method for applying inside controlled spotlights to posts of an automobile or the like.

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claim hereinafter following.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevational view of a portion of a closed type of automobile showing the usual location of a spotlight thereon. Figure 2 is an enlarged horizontal detailed sectional view through the front post structure of an automobile 5 showing the improved mounting bracket and associated'drillguide and'indicating the method or application. And Figure 3 is a vertical, part sectional 'view, part elevational view, through the corner post, showing the completed mounting of the spotlight.

In said drawing, in indicates a metal from corner postof an automobile having an exterior rounded surfacell and inner flat surface I2, the post being interposed, as usual, between the windshield l3 and the door, a portion of the latter being indicated at M. As indicated inFigure 1, the post Ill isinclined away from the vertical, and this inclination, as well as the specific contour of cross-section of the post, will vary in different cars, as will be understood. In carrying out the invention, there is first pro vvided a bracket indicated generally bythe reference character A. Saidbracket A is formed with an outstanding sleeve I5 interiorly threaded as indicated at 16. Integrally formed with the sleeve section 15 is a securing and sealing flange H extended above and below the sleeve section l5 and .ap'ertured to receive machine securing screws 18-4 8. In'actual practice, the flange portionsiof the bracket A will be varied so as to conform to the slope and outer contour of the several types of posts, that is, there will be a bracket A of a type adapted for application to one series of cars and corresponding brackets for each other series. Preferably, the flange portion of each bracket will be cut away on its under side, as indicated at l9, so as to insure a tight fit around the edges of the bracket flange and the post surface when the bracket is secured in place.

In applying the bracket A to a car of any particular manufacture, a paper or other inexpensive templet will preferably be employed such that, when applied to the outer surface of the post in a definite position with reference to some permanent or fixed part of that particular car, the templet will indicate the proper location for the drilling and tapping of the holes to receive the bracket securing screws l8. This will accurately locate the bracket on the post and, when secured in place, the next operation of drilling is in order.

Cooperable with the backet A is a drill guide, designated generally by the reference character B, the same having an inner threaded portion 20 adapted to cooperate with the interior thread N5 of the bracket and having an annular shoulder 2! which engages the end of the sleeve section I5 of the braket when the drill guide is temporarily in position. To tighten the drill guide, the same may have a nut section 22 intermediate its ends, as indicated in Figure 2. With the bracket located as previously described and the drill guide in place, it is then a comparatively simple matter for the post to be drilled as by the drill indicated at 23, it being evident that the drill will enter and leave the post at the exact predetermined points necessary to insure the proper mounting of the spotlight.

With the bracket A remaining in place, the drill guide B is removed and replaced by the interchangeable retainer bearing member indicated generally by the reference character 0. The latter comprises a main section 24 and an inner reduced section 25 exteriorly threaded to coact with the interior thread l6 of the bracket. Preferably, the section 24 is knurled on its outer surface as indicated at 26, so that the same may be screwed home tight against the bracket and at the same time present a contour flush with the sleeve section [5 of the bracket and the lamp-head casting 21.

On its inner side, the retainer bearing member is provided with a central bore 28 of the same diameter as that of the drill 23 and which, in turn, corresponds to the diameter of the lamp head shaft 29 which is preferably formed integral with thelamp head casting 21. Near its outer end, the retainer bearing member C has an enlarged interior bore 30 for a short distance, thus providing an internal annular. shoulder 3| disposed opposite the correspondingly formed the lamp head casting 21.

.After the retainer bearing member C is screwed home tight to be left permanently in position, the lamp head casting 21 with its shaft extension 29 but with the handle housing 33 removed, is inserted axially through the member G and bracket A. The spotlight assembly 21-29 is then held in proper position but free to rotate by the transverse pin 34 entered through the member C,

said'pin being partially seated tightly within the member C and somewhat more loosely in an annular groove 35 on the reduced section 36 of the casting 21. The handle housing 33 is then applied and retained in position as by the clamp screw 38.

shoulder 32 on spotlight has been applied, may be discarded, thus doing away with the necessity of expensive jigs and drill spotting devices as heretofore employed. Although there has herein been shown and described what is now considered the preferred manner of carrying out the invention, the same is merely illustrative and all changes and modifications are contemplated that come within the scope of the claim appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

In a spotlight mounting, the combination with a mounting bracket having a central bore therethrough, said bracket having a base flange adapted to be secured to a support and said bore being threaded at the outer end; of a retainer bearing member having an interior journal bearing for a spotlight shaft and an. exteriorly threaded section at its inner end and provided also with a shoulder adjacent the threaded section, said threaded end cooperating with the threaded bore of the bracket to thereby retain the bearing member permanently in fixed position, said bearing member being provided also at its outer'endwith an enlarged counter-bore and shoulder at the inner end thereof; a spotlight shaft extending through said retainer bearing member and bracket and journaled in said bearing member, said shaft having stepped annular shoulders engageable with the bottom of said counter bore and outer end of the bearing member, respectively; and means for retaining said shaft in position against endwise movement within the bearing member and bracket, said means comprising a transversely extending pin fixedly seated in the bearing member and partially received within an annular groove on the intermediate section of the shaft enlargement.

CLIFFORD SKLAREK. 

